Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Receives $310.47 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $310.47.

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $300.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Equifax from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX traded up $2.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $271.11. 409,379 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,324. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $291.94 and a 200-day moving average of $263.92. The stock has a market cap of $33.51 billion, a PE ratio of 59.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Equifax has a one year low of $164.23 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The credit services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.01. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 10.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 34.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total transaction of $15,770,648.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at $29,532,909.67. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 58,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.49, for a total value of $15,770,648.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,532,909.67. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla Chaney sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.85, for a total transaction of $845,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,065,118.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,304 shares of company stock valued at $16,889,119 in the last quarter. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equifax

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EFX. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equifax by 76.1% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 138.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 131 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.